Oh man, I had one huge writing block for this chapter. I even had to stay in the library for a few hours just to write a few paragraphs. But here it is, the seventh chapter! I hope the wait wasn't unbearable ^^; Just a heads up, I will be starting my summer work next week, so updates will come less frequently now; perhaps once every two weeks, or every week if I'm lucky. But I'll still try my best to keep you all entertained. As for the story, what do you guys think of the development of Raku and Ruri's relationship? Is it going too fast, too slow, or is it progressing at a good pace? Some people have told me it's slow and subtle, so I tried to pick up the pace a bit. For now, enjoy!

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The slow rising sun shone its rays on the two sleeping figures inside the gazebo. The increasing brightness and temperature had woken Ruri up from her sleep. Sleepily, she opened her eyes to see the sun, the only source of light, just beginning to rise from the horizon. The last thing she remembered was reading her novel in the garden. From what she knew, Ruri guessed she must have accidentally fallen asleep while reading outside. She had to admit that she slept really well last night. She didn't know why it felt more comfortable than a futon, but she didn't complain.

She tried to get up from the bench, but a weight on her head was making it difficult. She looked up to see Raku sleeping peacefully with his head laid on top her. What surprised her, even more, was that she was leaning on him. She wondered if she had slept in that embarrassing position all night. She slowly raised his head off of her and rested it on the wall of the gazebo, making sure to not wake him up. After freeing herself, she stood up to observe Raku and the possibilities of last night.

"How did things turn out like this?" She thought hard to last night. It was vague, but she could remember Raku happening to stumble upon her reading time. He sat beside her as she used him as a comfier back support. Everything after that was a blur to her – even the things he had said. She saw that there was no use musing over it all. It was still quite early, and everyone was asleep, so it was best if they both went back inside the resort and act as if it never happened.

She stood in front of Raku and leveled her head with his. She tried to wipe the redness off her face. She still couldn't believe they fell asleep together like that, and just the thought of getting caught didn't help with the color of her cheeks. After clearing her thoughts and making sure her blush had receded, she spoke to the sleeping boy in front of her.

"Ichijō-kun."

No response. He was deep in his sleep. She repeated herself somewhat louder. This at least got a small response from him, however, he was just sleep-talking.

"Pro…mise…" Ruri thought he was going to wake up, only to be let down. She never liked repeating herself, so her next attempt was more physical. Once more, she called out to him while poking his face. That was enough to wake him up partially as his eyes slowly fluttered open, but Ruri could tell he was still in a dream-like state. Suddenly, his hands rose and cupped Ruri's face. "Marry… you…"

Ruri couldn't understand why she got flustered by his words. She knew it wasn't intended towards her but hearing him say it to her made her heart skip a beat. Was it embarrassment? Disappointment? Joy? Or just pure surprise? Whatever her reason, she wasn't going to show him that she reacted to such a trivial thing. She wore a scowl on her face as she slapped away his hand, effectively waking him up fully. He wasn't expecting the first thing he saw that day to be Ruri's angry face.

"M-Miyamoto? Did I do something wrong?" He asked in a terrified voice.

"No, you just said something about a promise and marrying m – someone." Ruri corrected herself. She left out the part where he gently held her cheek. It was too embarrassing for her to even recollect. "A dream, maybe?"

"Ah, well, more of a memory than a dream. I made a promise to a girl when I was younger that I'd marry her when we meet again... I guess I still want to fulfill that promise." He had a reminiscent look on his face, almost sad even. Ruri thought about what he had just said. She wondered if that was the reason he'd been holding back in confessing to Onodera. Before she could ask, Raku had cut her off. "Oh, right! Miyamoto!"

"W-What?" His sudden change in mood caught her off guard.

"Let's get back inside before the others wake up and see us." Indeed, people would ask questions if they saw the two up so early inside the garden gazebo. They both agreed to never speak of last night ever. As Ruri tried to make her way back to the girl's room, Raku called out to her. She turned to see him holding her novel, which she had dropped on the ground. "You forgot this, sleepy-head." He gave a smug grin. She wished she had the nerve in the morning to wipe that look off his face, but there were more important matters at hand.

Walking back inside, they were greeted with the smell of breakfast being cooked. Curious, they followed the scent towards the kitchen, where they saw Emiya preparing breakfast.

"Good morning, Emiya-san." The two said in unison. Emiya was surprised to see them awake so early but gave them a warm, welcoming smile.

"Oh, good morning! Breakfast will be ready in a few hours, so why don't you wait somewhere." Raku offered to assist her in cooking, feeling as though he couldn't just let her cook for all ten people. Ruri then felt obliged to do the same since she was already there. She wasn't a total stranger to the kitchen, having to help her mother with meals sometimes, but she wasn't experienced like Raku. Nevertheless, Emiya gladly accepted both their offers.

Ruri was charged with the basic work: washing and drying the dishes, cooking rice, and cutting the vegetables and fruits. Emiya and Raku handled the cooking of the main dishes. With three people in the kitchen, breakfast was readied earlier than planned. After preparing the table with plates and food, the three stood satisfied with their hard work. Emiya thanked them as she started walking towards the rooms to call everyone, but stopped before leaving the dining room.

"Oh, and just for future reference," Raku and Ruri turned to look at her. She faced the two with her usual kind, but now somewhat smug smile. "Please close the lights in the gazebo before you go to sleep. Saving energy is important, no?" She then disappeared behind the doorway as she whistled to herself. Raku and Ruri simply stood in place with downcast eyes, shadows covering them.

"You should've woken me up, Ichijō-kun…"

"Trying to put the blame on me, Miss 'Let me sleep on your ar' –!" He was cut off with an elbow to the side of his rib cage; a grave reminder of their agreement. When they heard several footsteps approaching, they composed themselves to greet everyone.

Everyone shared their morning greetings before starting breakfast. Since everyone had just woken up, they were not very talkative, so breakfast was spent with little to no talking. The girls, however, brought up their plans for the day, which they made yesterday during the party. They did research last night and found a local mall nearby, as well as some landmarks they could visit. Everyone agreed, thinking it would be a good idea to go sight-seeing around the area.

With breakfast finished and the table cleared, the group found themselves with time to spare before the door malls opened. The girls wanted to help each other pick out what clothes to wear for their outing, while Shu invited Raku to read some of the mangas he brought. The two groups returned to their rooms to pass the time.

Inside the girl's room, a small fashion show was in session. Each of the girls, save for Ruri, laid their clothes and accessories out for the girls to pick and critique. One by one, they showed their outfit the others chose for them. Marika and Chitoge wore flamboyant clothes, while Kosaki, Haru, and surprisingly, Tsugumi wore simple, cute, feminine ones. Happy with their attire, they turned to the last girl in the room who still hadn't changed. Ruri initially declined them, stating she could pick her own clothes by herself, but Kosaki insisted that she wanted to dress her dear friend up. Ruri saw how much fun Kosaki had doing it for others, so she found it hard to refuse her. She always did have a soft spot for Kosaki.

Defeated, Ruri laid out her only accessory, which was her hairpin Raku bought for her, and clothes, which was comprised of jeans, ankle-length cargo pants, a cardigan, and a few colored shirts; plain clothes, as she would describe them. The girls collectively mused over which ones would work well together, which ones wouldn't, and which colors would fit her. It took many trial-and-errors, but they finally found the outfit for her. They felt proud of their work as they pulled Ruri in front of the full-body mirror in the room. Even Ruri was surprised by how she looked. The girls were able to take her plain clothes and combine them into an attractive getup for her.

The girls still felt like she was missing something. After a few moments, they realized that she was missing an accessory to complete everything. As they laid their eyes on her hairpin, they were amazed by not only how beautiful it looked, but how well it matched Ruri. When they asked her where Ruri got it, she couldn't tell them Raku bought it for her or it would cause misunderstandings in her group. Instead, she lied and said her mom bought it for her a few days ago when she went gift shopping. She was relieved when they believed her.

With the girls ready for the mall and with time still left to spare, they spent the rest of their time in the room talking about various things, from what they were expecting from the mall to how much they were willing to splurge on themselves, none of which interested Ruri. Grabbing her beloved novel from her bag, she excused herself from the room, planning to read it in the gazebo again.

She always enjoyed reading outside. The sun always made the best reading light for her, better than the artificial ones indoor. Standing on the porch, she could see and feel that the weather was great that day. Everything from the sky to the ground looked perfect for reading. She even considered lying down on the seemingly soft grass. It would have certainly felt better than the stiff bench of the gazebo. Standing in a well-lit spot on the ground, she prepared herself to lie stomach-down on the warm grass until she was stopped by a hand grabbing hold of her arm.

"What are you doing now, Miyamoto?" Raku asked with a confused look on his face.

"What does it look like? I'm going to read my novel." She said matter-of-factly. He sighed at her response as he pulled her back up gently. She stared back at him with her usual blank expression, expecting his reason for stopping her.

"And get your clothes all dirty?"

"Your business with it being?" Raku was about to give up, knowing that she wasn't planning on changing her mind. He took one glance at the grass and he could understand why she would be so tempted to lie down on it. He swiftly took off his slightly oversized jacket and laid it on the ground, much to Ruri's confusion.

"Look, I just don't want your clothes getting dirty. You can even lie down on my jacket if you want." He crossed his arms to look stern about his offer. Ruri couldn't understand his actions. Sure, it was normal for a friend to worry about their friend's clothes getting dirty, but to go as far as to sacrifice their own clothes to do so? It was the chivalry she had long thought to have died in that day and age.

"Won't your jacket get dirty then?" He pointed back to the resort, stating he brought another one with him. Ruri took his offer and kneeled down on the jacket as she slowly lowered the rest of her body on top. It was soft and warm, which she thought was a decent replacement for the grass she longed for earlier. Pleased with her reading environment, she placed the book on the grass and started reading. With that, Raku started walking back inside to prepare his clothes but stopped a few steps ahead to turn back at Ruri.

"Also," Ruri looked up from her book to see what he was going to say. "Glad to see you're wearing that hairpin. I knew you'd like it." He gave a wide grin, the one that always seemed to warm her up. Warmed? She wondered when she started feeling the warmth. She placed her fingers on it softly, reminding her the shape and feel of it. Truthfully, she liked the hairpin, but she wasn't going to let that simple fact get to the boy's head.

"The girls forced me to wear it when they picked out this outfit for me." Raku took one long look at here attire. Before she could come up with a threat to make him look away like she usually did, he had beaten her to the punchline.

"Guess that explains why your outfit's cuter than usual." She responded with a 'Hmph' to show her indifference to his compliment. It looked like she had grown an immunity to his compliments, so she didn't blush... too much, at least. She looked back down at her novel to continue reading. Not wanting to disturb her any further, he decided to leave her to her own enjoyment as he continued his way back to his room. With him gone, she could finally focus on reading.

A few minutes later, she had reached the end of a chapter. Seeing it as a good stopping point, she closed her novel and placed it aside. She looked at her watch to see that the group still had time before the mall opened. With not much to do, she laid face up on the jacket, bored to death. But the feeling of boredom was quickly washed away by the warmth of the sun. She closed her eyes to bask in its comfort. She leaned on her side to get into a more comfortable position and to prevent too much light from reaching her eyes.

Slowly, as her body became more relaxed, she grew more conscious of the jacket she laid on, especially its distinct scent. It surrounded her gently as she fell into her own orange world. It was a comforting scent, and it somehow made her feel safe and at ease, to the point that it brought her to the verge of sleep. She figured she had some time to take a light nap at least. As she descended into a sleepier state, she made one obvious realization.

"Ah… this is Ichijō-kun's scent… isn't it…? why is it so…?" She fell asleep before she could even finish her thoughts.

Back inside the resort, Nanako was notifying everyone that the mall had opened and it was time to leave. As the boys and girl readied up and met in the hallway, Kosaki asked where Ruri had gone off to. The girls had no idea, saying all they knew was that she went outside to read her book. Before Kosaki could worry any further about her friend going missing, Raku volunteered to go fetch her since he was the only one who knew where she was. He told everyone to go ahead to the resort entrance and he'll meet them there with Ruri. Worried for their friend, but trusting of Raku, the group placed their faith in him as they made their way to the entrance.

Meanwhile, Ruri was dreaming peacefully. She dreamt of a time when she was just a child and she was having a conversation with her mom. In her dream, she sat on the ground while her mother sat on a chair in front of her.

"Mama, why did you marry papa?" The younger Ruri asked naively. She didn't ask this to offend her father. She loved her father very much, but she was just a curious girl looking for answers.

"Why do you ask?"

"He's clumsy, doting, and dense. He doesn't seem like a prince charming at all!" Her mother laughed from her daughter comparing her father to a prince charming. Indeed, even she would agree he was far from an ideal one. She stood from her chair and kneeled in level to Ruri.

"He might not be your prince, but he is mine." It was a simple explanation to a child, so Ruri understood what her mom meant by this. Her understanding was evident on her face, which was not always as blank as it was now. Her mom smiled, glad that her child was bright enough to get what she said.

"Do you think I'll find mine someday?"

"Of course. One day, you'll open your eyes to find a boy. At that moment, you'll know he's the one."

"How are you so sure, mama?" Her mother gave another warm chuckle, as she leaned her chin on her fingers as if to be in deep thought.

"Well… That's how I met your papa." Ruri gave a huge smile when she heard her mother's story. As a child, she believed everything her mother taught her, so hearing her mother reassure her that she will find her prince someday brought the young girl so much hope and joy.

As the scene slowly faded into darkness, slowly being swallowed into an abyss, Ruri woke up from her nap. Rolling on her back, she saw that the sun was being blocked by a figure. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the brightness, the features on the silhouette steadily becoming clearer: dark hair, a white x-shaped hair pin, and large blue eyes.

"Miyamoto? You awake now? Sorry to interrupt your nap, but everyone's waiting for us at the entrance." Their words filled Ruri's ears. She had awoken enough to comprehend what they meant. She pushed herself up with her elbow and blindly searched for her glasses, which had fallen off in the midst of her sleep. With the help of her spectacles, her vision cleared enough for her to recognize the person: Raku Ichijō. Raku stood up and extended his arm to Ruri to help her up, reminding her of their trip to the mall. She slowly raised her arm and grabbed hold of his hand as she was pulled up from the ground. However, suddenly standing up from her position, as well as still being somewhat dazed, she quickly lost her balance and nearly fell back down to the ground, only to be caught in Raku's arms. "Ha-ha, guess you're still sleepy, huh?" She was being supported with an embrace from Raku, much to her embarrassment. As soon as she regained her sense of balance, she weakly pushed herself off him.

"I can stand up on my own just fine." She gave him a blank stare before slowly walking to the entrance. Raku followed right behind her, occupied with his own thoughts. His mind flashed back to her sleeping figure, which showed her sleeping peacefully with a smile, more expressive than any he's ever seen before from her.

"Must've been a good dream, huh Miyamoto? I wonder what you were dreaming about." His curiosity was piqued when she mumbled something about a prince charming in her sleep. He never took her as the type to dream about fairy tails, but he guessed that the contrasts in his expectations were what made him more interested in her each time.

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I kept updating this chapter because I felt like it's a bit "off". Maybe it's Ruri's dream sequence at the end that's throwing me off. That part was a "spur of the moment" type of writing. I even have a vague idea on how to use that sequence as a plot device for future arcs, but if you guys think that it doesn't fit well with the story or her character, please tell me so I can give it more thought and change it to something more appealing. For now, I'm keeping it as is because I already have plans for it. Thanks for your feedback, I really appreciate it! ^^